1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a film winding device for winding a photographic film, pulled out from a cartridge, around a spool shaft provided in the cartridge, in layers.
2. Description of the Related Art
An exposed photographic film (for example, a negative film) is brought in a development laboratory in a state of being wound in a case such as a cartridge. In the development laboratory, the negative film wound in the cartridge is pulled out therefrom and is subjected to development processing. The developed negative film is loaded on a film carrier of a printer and printing processing is effected in which an image recorded on the negative film is printed onto a photographic printing paper to prepare a photographic print.
The negative film which has been subjected to development processing is put in a negative film sleeve in the state of negative pieces into which the negative film is cut every a predetermined number of image frames (for example, every six frames), and thereafter, is returned to a customer together with photographic prints.
In recent years, there has been discussed a method in which a negative film subjected to development processing is wound in a cartridge and is returned to a customer without being cut into pieces. By storing the negative film in a non-cut state, for example, the negative film can be provided with a magnetic recording layer. In cases in which information regarding the time of photographing of the negative film, information regarding the time of printing, and the like are recorded on the magnetic recording layer, the information recorded on the negative film can be read out and utilized at the time of a subsequent printing operation or the like.
In the case in which the negative film is wound and accommodated in the cartridge, when extra prints of an image recorded on the negative film are made, the negative film must be pulled out from the cartridge. For this reason, a device for effecting printing an image of the negative film (i.e., a printer) needs a mechanism for winding the negative film in the cartridge as well as a mechanism for pulling out the negative film from the cartridge. Accordingly, a film carrier has been proposed for mounting the negative film to a printer for printing processing, having a mechanism for pulling out the negative film from the cartridge and a mechanism for winding the negative film back into the cartridge.
On the other hand, when only several frames among the images recorded on the negative film are enlarged to be greater than a standard size, a printing device provided for that particular purpose (a large enlarging device) is used. A carrier of the large enlarging device is provided such that various films can be mounted thereto, but it is difficult from a spatial point of view in the device to provide a mechanism for pulling out and winding the negative film out of and back into the cartridge. Accordingly, when the negative film accommodated in the cartridge is mounted in such a large enlarging device, the negative film must be pulled out from the cartridge manually.
In this case, this manual operation of pulling out the negative film from the cartridge is relatively easy. However, when the negative film pulled out from the cartridge is wound again in the cartridge, the negative film which is several meters in length must be wound around a small-diameter spool shaft of the cartridge by rotating the spool shaft. This operation of winding the negative film around the spool shaft requires much time and patience. Further, since substantial curling is generated in the negative film when it is in the cartridge, the operation of winding the negative film in the cartridge without damaging the negative film becomes troublesome.